Social Democrats Debate Nominees For Minority Government

Prague, May 15 (CTK) – The leadership of the Czech Social Democrats (CSSD) will meet on Friday afternoon to discuss the party’s nominees for the minority government the Social Democrats may form along with Prime Minister Andrej Babis’s ANO, CSSD spokesman Petr Vurbs told journalists today.

The Social Democrats are supposed to fill five posts of ministers in the government in the making that is yet to be tolerated by the Communists.

The Social Democrats want to publish their names before the intra-party referendum that is to decide on whether to enter the government.

It starts on Monday and its results are to be known on June 15.

There are the speculations that party leader Jan Hamacek will be nominated for the interior minister. He himself has declined to comment on it.

The post of foreign minister is to go to MEP Miroslav Poche, though his candidature is opposed by President Milos Zeman.

The post of labour and social affairs minister may be filled by the leader of the CSSD branch in the Vysocina Region, Petr Krcal. He is the director of the Domov Jerabina institute for the people with mental disorders.

Krcal told CTK today he had not received any official offer for the post.

The post may also be given to the Labour and Social Affairs Deputy Minister Gabriela Nekolova. She is in charge of unemployment and social exclusion.

She has confirmed that she received the offer.

The speculations have surfaced that the post of agriculture minister may go to Miroslav Toman, who already held it in the caretaker government of Jiri Rusnok between 2013 and 2014.

The business paper Hospodarske noviny writes today the post may also be given to senator Karel Kratochvile, but he told CTK that he was not interested in it.

Changes are also expected at the ministries held by ANO. However, Babis has refused to publish ANO’s nominees before the referendum, as demanded by CSSD deputy chairman Martin Netolicky.